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In Focus: a 1784 Vicente Assensio violin

2023-06-20T08:31:00

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Jordi Pinto examines a violin by the Spanish luthier

When speaking of 18th-century Spanish violin making, one tends to mention José Contreras and Silverio Ortega in Madrid, and Joan Guillamí and Salvador Bofill in Barcelona as the most representative makers. Regrettably one forgets the teacher of one of them: Vicente Assensio, who was Ortega’s uncle. Assensio has been overlooked, perhaps because he made around 30 instruments, his working life was rather brief (1773–95), and his instruments are difficult to find. Nonetheless, the quality of his instruments should make us reconsider our opinion of him.

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